Toy



June 16, 1959 N. L. CASE ET AL 2,890,887

` Toy Filed sept. 15. 1955 v INVENTOR. NOEL L. (EASE JOHN L. DOHANIGATTORNEY United States Patent. Q

ToY

NoelvL. Case and John L.- Dohanc, Girard, Pa., assignors toaLouislVlarx`& Company, Inc., New York, NtY., a corporation -ofNew York ApplicationSeptember 155, 1955',V Serial No. 534,577v

4 Claims. (Cl. Tilt- 1.)`

This invention relates to toys, and more particularly to toyphonographs.

Thel problem of providing a satisfactory toy phonograph for use in dollsand other toys is diiiicult, because of the severe requirements. Thephonograph must play in any position, for the doll orl other toy` may beheld in diiferent positions. The mechanism must provide for automaticresetting of the stylus from the last to the rst record groove, forthephonograph ordinarily is inaccessible. In addition the phonographmust be compact indimension, light in weight, inexpensive in cost, andrugged enough to withstand mistreatment and rough handling by children.

The primary objects of the" present inventionv are to generally improvetoy phonographs, and to fulfill the foregoing requirements.

To accomplish these general objects, and other more specic objects whichwill hereinafter appear, our in# vention resides in the toyphonographelements, and their relation one to another, as are hereinafter moreparticularly describedin the following specication. The specification isaccompanied by a drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view showing a toy phonograph embodying featuresof our invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken. approximately in the plane ofthe line 2`2 of Fig. l; 1

,Fig. 3 is a plan View looking in the direction of the arrows 3`3 of`Fig. 2, with the cover removed;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section similar` to Fig. 2, but showing, therelation ofthe parts `as the reset cam first engages the stylus arm;

Fig. Slis a plan view similar to`Fig. 3, but showing how the stylus `armis moved radiallyby the cam;

Fig. 6,is. a fragmentary` section similar to Fig. 4, but showing how thestylus arm is moved axially by thecam;

Fig. 7 is a plan view similar to Fig. 5, but` showing the, relation ofthe parts after completion ofthe reset operation;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section similar to Fig. 6, but showingtherelation of the partsiafter completion of the reset operation;

Fig. `9 is a detaildrawn to greatly` enlarged scale; and

lOis a. perspective view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a modication.

Referring` to the drawing, and more particularly to Figs..7 and 8thereof, the toy phonograph comprises .a disci-coord 12, and a vibratilediaphragm 14 which is disposed in aplane generally parallel tothe planeof the disc record 12. Astylus lengages the record 12, andatrigid1stylus arml extends from the record to the diaphragm.14. Thestylus arm 18 is pivoted on diaphragmr14in order toV permit the stylus16` to traverse i therecord as= the stylus tracks in the sound groove 20of. the record. The pivoted` connection between the stylus arm 18 andthe diaphragm 14includes=a flat enlargementiZLformed rigidlywith` the.stylus arm 18 and 2,898,887 Paard June .la 1989 2 phragm 1`4 together.In`-th`e particular construction'here shownithe pivoting action isprovided by an extra long eyelet 26, and the resilient means 24 is a'small compression spring surrounding the eyelet 26 and bearing againsttheenlargement 22, and thus functioningtohold the parts together.

It will be understood -that the recording groove 20 is of thehillaand-dal` type, so` thatthel stylus vibration is transverse tothevplane of the record. This vibration is transmitted to arm 18 withits enlargement 22, and thence to the diaphragm 14, which accordingly isvibrated to reproduce the soundrecorded on. therecord;

The record 12 is rotated by a shaft 30. A` cam 32 is lixedly securedtothe shaft 30 at a'point spaced from the record 12.L A cam follower 34,in this case a short lug or nger, is formed on the stylus arm 18" forc'o-` operation with the cam 32. The cam is shaped to act axiallyand';radially. The `small radius part 36` of the cam isn'earer the record 12,and the cam is so dimelr# sioned that thelarge radius part 38turns'freely beyond or above thestylus arm 1SA during the playing of therecord, until finally when the stylus arm has movedin to approach theinnermost groove, the cam follower finger 34 reaches` and engages` thesmall radius part 36 of the cam which comes beneath the finger 34 (Figs.3 and 4); Thereupon the cam separates the stylus axially from therecord, as isV indicated by the change from Fig.` 4 to Fig. 6 of thedrawing.

The cam also moves the stylus arm radiallyoutward, as is shown by thechange from Fig. 3 to Fig. 5 of the drawing. Finally, when the stylusarm has been moved al1 the wayout, the large radius part 38 of thecampasses the follower`34, as shown by thechange from Fig. 5 to Fig. 7 ofthe drawing,.and this permits the stylus to re-engage the` recordat theoutermost grooves, as shown by the. change from Fig. 6 to Fig. 8 of thedrawing. Itwill be understood that the recordmay have a high pitch`starting groove outside the main body of closely spaced recordinggrooves 29, anda high pitch finishing groove inside the main body ofrecording grooves. i This eliminates the need for precision in placingthe stylus at the beginning and end of the record, and the actualhill-anddale recording may beconned to the main body of grooves 20, sothat the high pitch starting and finishing groovesare used only for themechanical resetting operation. No attempt has been made to show on thedrawing the actual pitch and diiferences in pitch 4of thegroofves.`

In the present case the shaftllis `driven in rather elementary fashionby a crank 40. For low cost a shaft may be bent to form it into a crank`shaft. Acrank drive is preferredbecause of its simplicity and low cost,`even though it has the disadvantage of variable pitch when the speed isvaried. However, even that has a compensating advantage in that italords amusement to most children, who experimentally operate the boy atdifferent speeds in order-to hear the great change in sound.

Referring to Fig. l, it will be seen thatthe casing 42 is a relativelyilat casing `with the crank 4t) projecting from one face. The diaphragm14 is preferably mountedin the same face of the casing7V for then thesound is emitted from the side ofthe toy that provides access-to thecrank. For example, if the phonograph is mounted at the back of adollwith thewcrank projecting `from the 'back ofthe doll, sound isemittedat the same side of the doll, and there is no need to provide forsound discharge from the other side ofthe` phonograph through `the bodyof the doll, which ordinarily is stuffed and thus tends to inhibit sounddischarge.

Considering `the illustrated structure in greater detail, the casing 42may be molded out of a suitable plastic material, and the front face 44and the complete periph- 3 eral wall 46 may be integral. The opposite oropen face may be closed by a suitable cover 48, which may consist ofcardboard, iibreboard or the like, cemented or otherwise securedto theedge of the'peripheral wall 46. Cover 48 is appliedas a nal step in theassembly of the phono-` graph. K Y l Diaphragm 14 may be made of thinsheet metal, fibreboard, or other suitable vibratile material. The edgeis received downwardly from above in an annular shoulder or step 5t)(Fig. 2) moldedin the wall 42 of the case. It is secured in position inany desired fashion, one method being to displace a series of spots ofplastic material over the edge of the diaphragm by means of a hot tool,as is indicated at 52..

The crank shaft 30 is secured in a bushing or hub 54, shown to `enlargedscale in Fig. 9. This is formed with an outer part 56, an intermediatepart 58, and an inner part V6() which is square in shape. Theintermediate part 58 is rotatably received in a mating hole in casingwall 44. The outer part 56 rests against the outside of the casing wall44 (Fig. 8). The disc record 12 has a square hole at its center, whichis received over the square portion 60, thus insuring that the partswill rotate together. The parts are held together by a spring nut 66.The intermediate part 5S is preferably sli-ghtly `'greater in thicknessthan the thickness of casing wall 44, thus providing a slight clearancebetween record 12 and wall 44, in order not to bind the record againstrotation. The hub 54 may be molded of a plastic material, or may bediecast. Keys 62 (Figs. 4 and 6) are formed on shaft 30, and these keysare forced into mating slots 64 (Fig. l) in hub S4.

To assemble the parts the crank shaft with its hub 54 are inserted inthe casing; the record 12 is slipped over the inner end of the shaft andis seated on hub 54; following which a friction spring nut or so-calledspeed nut 66 is pressed down ,over the shaft until it bears rathertightly against the record. Y

The cam 32 is added subsequently. For this purposel the end of shaft 30preferably is deformed to provide four keys in cruciform section, andthe hole in the cam is preferably given a mating configuration. When thecam is pressed over the end of the shaft the latter may be upset orriveted to permanently secure the cam rigidly in position on the shaft.

'Ihe stylus arm 18 may be assembled with diaphragm 14 Ibefore securingthe diaphragm in the casing. If this has not been done, the stylus armmay [be added at any desired time, along with the eyelet and compressionspring, following which the small end of the eyelet is spread or rivetedto complete the assembly.

Tone arm 18 may be molded out of any one of the many suitable moldingplastics, and in such case the enlarged area or disc 22 and the camfollower linger 34 are preferably molded integrally with the arm 18.

In the drawing it will be seen that the diaphragm 14 is laterally orsidewardly displaced from the record 12. However, they may partiallyoverlap for compactness, as here shown.

If desired, the area of the diaphragm may be increased instead of beingsmaller than that of the record. Such a modified design is shown in Fig.10, in which diaphragm 74 is substantially larger than the diaphragm 14previously referred to. The diaphragm may be given a dimensionsubstantially equal to that of the record, in which case the side edgesof the casing may be made parallel, as shown at 76 in Fig. l0. Otherwisethe construction in Fig. l() is the same as that previously described.

Itis believed Vthat the construction of our improved toy phonograph, aswell as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoingdetailed description. It will also be apparent that while we have shownand described our invention in preferred forms, changes may be made inthe structures shown, without departing from the scope of the invention,as sought to be dened in the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a toy phonograph comprising a crank shaft and crank for turningthe same, a disc record on said crank shaft, a diaphragm disposed in aplane generally parallel to the plane of the disc record, a stylus and astylus arm on the side of the record remote from the diaphragm andextending from the diaphragm to the record, said stylus y arm beingpivoted on said diaphragm by a pivot perpendicular to said diaphragm topermit the stylus to traverse the record, the pivoted connection betweenthe stylus arm 4.and the diaphragm including a flat enlargement forminga part of the arm and bearing against a mating flat part of thediaphragm, and stylus reset mechanism on said crank shaft, said partsbeing housed in a relatively flat casing having main front and backwalls, said diaphragm and record being immediately adjacent the frontwall of the casing, said stylus arm and said reset mechanism beinglocated between the back wall on one side and the diaphragm and recordon the other side, and said crank `projecting from the front wall of thecasing for rotating said record.`

2. In a toy phonograph comprising a crank shaft and 1 crank for turningthe same, a disc record on said crank shaft, va diaphragm disposed in aplane generally parallel to the plane of the disc record, a stylus and astylus arm on the side of the record remote from the diaphragm andextending from the diaphragm to the record, said stylus arm beingpivoted on said diaphragm by a pivot perpendicular to said diaphragm topermit the stylus to traverse the record, the pivoted connection betweenthe stylus arm and the diaphragm including a ilat eni largement forminga part of the arm and bearing against 1 a mating flat part of thediaphragm, and stylus reset y and said crank projecting from the frontwall of the casing for rotating said record.

3. A toy phonograph comprising a crank shaft and crank for turning thesame, a disc record secured to and turned by said crank shaft, adiaphragm disposed` in a plane generally parallel to the plane of thedisc record, a stylus and a stylus arm on the side of the record remotefrom the diaphragm and extending from the diaphragm to the record, saidstylus arm being pivoted on said diaphragm by a pivot perpendicular tosaid diaphragmto permit the stylus to traverse the record, the pivotedconnection between the stylus arm and the diaphragm including a flatenlargement forming a part of the arm and formed rigidly with the stylusarm and bearing against a mating liat part of the diaphragm, a cam xedlysecured directly to said crank shaft at a point spaced from said recordand on the same side of the record as the stylus arm is located, a camfollower formed on said stylus arm for cooperation with said cam, saidcam being shaped to act axially and radially, the small radius part ofthe cam being nearer the record than the cam follower, the large radiuspart of the cam being further from the record than the cam follower,said cam being so dimensioned that the large radius portion of the camturns freely beyond the stylus arm until the latter has moved from theouter to the inner grooves, at which time the cam follower engages thesmall radius part of the cam, whereupon the cam separates the stylusaxially from the record and moves it radially outward to the outergrooves of the record and there releases it to 1re-engage therecord,`said parts being housed in a relatively at casing having mainfront and back walls, said diaphragm the casing, said stylus arm andsaid reset mechanism being located between the back wall on one side andthe diaphragm and record on the other side, and said crank projectingfrom the front wall of the casing for rotating said record.

4. A toy phonograph comprising a crank shaft and crank for turning thesame, a disc record secured to and turned by said crank shaft, adiaphragm disposed in a plane generally parallel to the plane of thedisc record, a stylus and a stylus arm on the side of the record remotefrom the diaphragm and extending from the diaphragm to the record, saidstylus arm being pivoted on said diaphragm by a pivot perpendicular tosaid diaphragm to permit the stylus to traverse the record, the pivotedconnection between the stylus arm and the diaphragm including a atenlargement forming a part of the arm and formed rigidly with the stylusarm and bearing against a mating flat part of the diaphragm, a cam xedlysecured directly to said crank shaft at a point spaced from said recordand on the same side of the record as the stylus arm is located, a camfollower formed on said stylus arm for cooperation with said cam, saidcam being shaped to act axially and radially, the small radius part ofthe cam being nearer the record than the cam follower, the large radiuspart of the cam being farther from the record than the cam follower,said cam being so dimensioned that the large radius portion of the camturns freely beyond the stylus arm until the latter has moved from theouter to the inner grooves, at which time the cam follower engages thesmall radius part of the cam, whereupon the cam separates the stylusaxially from the record and moves it radially outward to the outergrooves of the record and there releases it to re-engage the record,said parts being housed in a relatively flat casing having main frontand back walls, said diaphragm being secured to the front of the casing,a part of the diaphragm overlapping a part of the record forcompactness, the overlap being less than the radius of the record, therecord being just inside the casing wall and diaphragm, said stylus armand said reset mechanism being located between the back wall on one sideand the diaphragm and record on the other side, and said crankprojecting from the front wall of the casing for rotating said record.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS639,452 Smallwood Dec. 19, 1899 1,434,666 Sharp Nov. 7, 1922 2,379,560Barnes July 3, 1945 2,523,340 Bonsall Sept. 26, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS24,784 Great Britain Sept. 2, 1915 1,007,839 France May 12, 19521,066,423 France June 4, 1954

